What do the pros eat during tours?

[lulubel]

This has come up on another forum, and the vast majority of people (who are non-cyclists) are assuming they exist on mostly energy gels!

While I know they do use gels, I've also seen them stuffing their faces with what looks suspiciously like real food while they're in the peloton. I'm also interested to know what they're eating when they're off the bike.

Does anyone know?

 

[black'n'yellow]

at the feed zones, they are handed the usual energy bars and stuff, along with real food. You hear of quiche slices, fruit cake, cheese sarnies, all sorts - a lot depends on the riders themselves and what they like. One of the old Motorola team siogneurs used to hollow-out finger rolls and fill them with peanut butter for his riders...

 

[iLB]

About this much every day...

taken from inrng blog, inrng.com

 

[Scoosh]

ITV4 commentators were saying that the soigneurs put some 'treats' in the musettes (the bags they pick up at the feed zones) - anything from cans of fizzy drinks , fruit juices, sandwiches, their favourite choccy bar to, as stated above, quiche (and they are real men ! ) etc.

The fun comes when they chuck the bags away - especially if they haven't drunk all of the can ...

At nights, they eat a lot ... of high-carb foods - pasta being rather obvious, along with protein-rich chicken, fish etc - and sometimes, even best Spanish steak . They need a normal meal/diet to keep their bodies working well.

Besides, have you ever tried more than one gel ?

 

[Beebo]

The following is stolen from BBC website:

Cyclist Bradley Wiggins, who is aiming to become the first Briton to win the Tour de France, could consume as many as 9000 calories in a single day, according to his nutritionist Nigel Mitchell.
The rider, who is currently leading the prestigious race, will normally eat breakfast and snacks before the stage begins. He takes on more fuel during the race, consumes snacks on the team bus home, followed by an evening meal.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mitchell says while Wiggins' food intake is nearly four times as much as an average male, it is the best way to keep such "an exceptional athlete" in top condition.

 

[lulubel]

Thanks, guys. That's what I expected to hear.

Mostly real food.

Now I can go and correct a few misapprehensions

 

[Sonofpear]

Check out https://twitter.com/teamskychef for an insight into what the sky lads have. He usually posts lots of photos everyday of what he's been cooking up and it looks awesome.

 

[Globalti]

I used to do weekend Polaris trailquests with my brother and quite soon we realised that nutrition was as important as fitness, map reading and route retention, bike setup and choice of route. We used to eat dried bananas then we got into Maxim and Complan and later we discovered that a big juicy steak on the overnight camp really helped stave off muscle fatigue on the Sunday's riding. But it didn't matter how many calories you necked, by Sunday afternoon you were starving and beginning to hallucinate about a slap-up meal. Stopping on the way home was a no-no because it meant you would fall asleep at the wheel. I do remember stopping at a farmhouse on the way back from a Yorkshire Dales event and eating two portions of ham and eggs each though.... can still remember the joy of that meal now!

 

[slowmotion]

Check out https://twitter.com/teamskychef for an insight into what the sky lads have. He usually posts lots of photos everyday of what he's been cooking up and it looks awesome.

Wow! This looks fantastic.
http://twitter.com/teamskychef/status/225229438525259776/photo/1/large